Course program
The course is divided into two teaching modules.
(1) Cultural and Literary History of Japan from Its Origins to the First Half of the 19th Century
This module aims to provide students with the fundamental framework to navigate premodern Japanese literary production and to ensure they master its essential elements (chronology, genres, authors, works).
During the lectures, the main textual genres of premodern Japanese literature will be introduced from a diachronic perspective, with reference to the historical and socio-cultural contexts in which they developed and spread. The focus will also be on the most representative works of each genre and period.
(2) Gender-Based Violence, Coercion, and Consent in The Tale of Genji
This module aims to familiarize students with the application of critical methodologies to literature.
Specifically, it will examine the issues of gender-based violence, coercion, and consent in The Tale of Genji through selected critical studies in English.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of Japan premodern history from the beginnings to the Tokugawa era (included).
Books
• L. Bienati, A. Boscaro (2010), La narrativa giapponese classica, Venezia: Marsilio.
• P. Zanotti (2012), Introduzione alla storia della poesia giapponese, Venezia: Marsilio (fino pag. 120).
• Murasaki Shikibu, La storia di Genji a cura di Maria Teresa Orsi, Torino: Einaudi, i seguenti capitoli:
o Introduzione
o 2. L’arbusto di saggina
o 3. La spoglia della cicala
o 5. La giovane pianta di murasaki
o 8. Il banchetto sotto il ciliegio
o 9. La festa delle foglie di aoi
o 16. La barriera
o 35. Germogli II
o 39. Nebbia di sera
o 51. Barca alla deriva
• Childs, Margaret H., “The Value of Vulnerability: Sexual Coercion and the Nature of Love in Japanese Court Literature”, The Journal of Asian Studies 58, no. 4 (1999): pp. 1059-1079. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2658495
• Milutin, Otilia C., Sweat, Tears and Nightmares: Textual Representations of Sexual Violence in Heian and Kamakura Monogatari, Tesi di dottorato, solo l’introduzione (pp. 1-49)
• Tyler, Royall, “Marriage, Rank and Rape in The Tale of Genji”, Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, fasc. 7 (marzo 2002). http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue7/tyler.html.
Frequency
Attendance is not compulsory but highly recommended
Exam mode
To meet everyone’s needs and preferences, the exam can be taken both in written and oral form.
In each exam session, the first exam will be written only (multiple choice questions and open-ended questions, approximately two hours) while the second (and third in the winter session) will be oral only.
The exam is aimed at evaluating the acquisition of the basic coordinates of the literary production of premodern Japan and its fundamental elements (chronology, genres, authors, works). The acquisition of the contents of the second module will also be evaluated: knowledge of the texts and their interpretation in the light of the selected critical bibliography.
To pass the written test it is necessary to obtain a score equal to or greater than 60/100. To pass the oral one it is necessary to obtain a score equal to or higher than 18/30.
Lesson mode
Classroom learning. The course will be held in Italian.
